"To begin with, Clint and Tony will give a demonstration," Natasha explained. "This will just be hand-to-hand combat. No weapons." Percy and Jason nodded in understanding and watched as the two men walked onto the matted area. They were eager to see just how good of fighters these guys were, when they weren't attacking them anyway.

They both got into a fighting stance, Clint's cleaner and more precise than Tony's. They began to circle each other, then suddenly Tony launched forward, aiming a punch directly at Clint's face.

He easily dodged though, causing Tony to be thrown slightly off balance, giving Clint the advantage. He grabbed Tony's arm and pulled it behind his back. He grunted slightly, but managed to elbow him with his free arm, drawing an 'oof' from Clint.

Tony pulled himself free and threw another punch at Clint, but this time as Clint ducked down, he swept his leg under Tony's, causing him to tumble to the ground. Clint quickly pressed his knee on his chest and held his arms down. He then stepped up and offered a hand out to Tony, who rolled his eyes at the grin on Clint's face.

"Just wait until we're training with weapons, Robin Hood. Then we'll see who's laughing," he said as he grabbed Clint's hand and hauled himself up. "I look forward to it," was Clint's amused reply.

Percy glanced at Jason who had also been watching the match intensely. Clint was good. He was well trained, skilled, and knew what he was doing. Tony seemed to hold his own well enough, but on the other hand didn't seem as advanced. Although Percy guessed that was probably because he always had his suit to rely on, which was a literal flying weapon. That may come back to bite him the future, if it hasn't already.

"You ready to have a go?" Steve asked Jason, who nodded in response with a completely neutral expression. They both walked forward, each getting into a fighting stance. Percy smirked. Jason is going to destroy this guy.

They began circling each other, sussing the other out. Percy knew that Jason was going to wait for Steve to start, he always did. He never liked to start a fight if he could help it. Boy scout.

When Steve realised this, he threw a punch at Jason. He dodged and delivered one of his own, but unlike Steve, he hit his target. Steve grunted as the hit landed. Percy knew how Jason packed a hard punch. He had been on the end of it more than once.

They went back and forth for a while, each getting a few hits on the other, Jason seemingly more than Steve. Although, from what Percy could tell, it looked as though Steve might be pulling his punches. Guess he was serious when he said he wouldn't try to hurt us.

Jason seemed to notice this as well, as he frowned and said, "Stop holding back, I can take it." Steve didn't look pleased with the comment, but he did seem to hit harder from then on, though not as hard as he probably could.

Percy was watching closely, studying his moves and fighting style. He, like Clint, was also trained well. Not as well as Clint, but still decent. He was strong too. Giving Jason a run for his money for sure. In the end though, Jason ran forward and kicked Steve in the stomach, hard. The man fell down as the wind was knocked out of him.

He looked up as Jason walked over to him and offered him a hand up. Steve took it, looking at him with a mix between surprise, shock, and impressed. "Not bad, kid," Clint said from the side. "Yeah," Steve agreed. "Not bad at all. Where did you learn those moves?"

"Summer camp," said Jason, casually. "What kind of summer camp teaches kids to fight? And that brutally?" Clint asked in concern. "The best kind," Percy said with a grin. Clint frowned at him, looking even more concerned. Percy looked away, suddenly feeling awkward. Jason and Steve stepped back down to the side-lines.

"Shall we?" Natasha asked, looking at Percy with an expectant expression. "We shall," Percy replied, walking forward. He wasn't as confident with fighting her as he was with the others, but he still felt he could take her.

They both readied themselves. Percy felt she would be like Jason, not wanting to make the first move. Although he felt her reasons were probably more on her wanting to study his movements than not wanting to start a fight. Due to this, Percy was the first to engage.

He through quick jabs at her. She blocked them but seemed to have to put a good bit of focus into it. He swung a kick towards her head. She ducked and, like Clint, swept her leg under his. However, unlike Tony, Percy rolled with it, before leaping forward and successfully landing a punch on her face.

He heard a gasp from the side-lines. Guess landing a hit on her doesn't happen often.

Before Percy could even think about this though, she threw a punch at him as well. It got him square in the jaw. He held it for a second as the sharp bolt of pain that rang through it finally subsided. He gave her a harsh look, and she gave him one in return. Okay, no holding back.

They leapt at each other, each sending powerful blows at the other. This went on for quite a while, but their audience didn't seem to lose interest, eyes sharp and focused on the pair.

After what felt like forever, with both panting slightly, they were bent over their knees catching their breath, staring the other down. Percy, of course, wasn't as out of breath as she was, but surprisingly she didn't look like she was about to drop down from exhaustion as he expected.

In one last attempt at victory, Natasha lunged forward and swung her entire body over his head. Her knees locked around his neck. Just when he thought he couldn't escape, he let himself fall to the ground, causing Natasha to shift positions to avoid injury. With this change of movement, Percy was able to elbow her in the ribcage, loosening her grip. He swung himself through the air, shocking her so she didn't realise until it was too late that he had her pinned down.

There was silence in the room. It felt like the others were holding their breath. Percy smirked down at her. She was well-trained, highly skilled, but she was still only a mortal. Percy was also well-trained, highly skilled, but was also a demigod.

He stepped back and helped her up. She looked at him, with a gaze that looked to Percy like it was between curiosity and shock. "That was... impressive," she said, almost in disbelief.

"Why thank you, you're pretty good yourself," Percy said with a smile. "How on earth did you do that, kid?" Tony asked, dumbfounded. "I'm a pretty good fighter," Percy said casually, as he stepped off the mats.

Jason smirked at that. "The best," he said, "except for me of course." Percy looked at him in mock shock. "You wanna go, dude? If you think you're so much better than me," Percy asked walking up to him. "Please, I have years of training on you, Jackson. It wouldn't be much of a competition," Jason said squaring up to him as well.

"And yet with all that extra training, I'm still far superior to you," Percy said with a smile as he began walking backwards away. Jason scoffed, but he was smiling to.

"Okay, that's enough, you two," Steve said, stepping slightly between them. "Anyone hungry?" he asked. "Absolutely. You guys have been starving us," Percy said dramatically. Steve turned to Jason. "How about you?" Jason shrugged. "I could eat," he said.

"Great, then it's settled. I'll order a pizza. You guys like pepperoni, right? If not, tough," Tony said, walking out, already dialling the pizza place number.

"I don't think I've ever had a New York pizza, are they good?" Jason asked, looking at the Avengers. They stared at them in bewilderment. "You've never... how can you not have... what do you mean you," Clint stammered, not even able to form an actual sentence. "Great, you broke Clint," Natasha said with a smirk.

Jason looked at Percy confused. "Am I missing something?" Percy laughed. "You're in for a real treat, man," he said, throwing an arm around his shoulders as they walked out of the training hall.

...

Piper was worried. Really worried.

They still were not able to make contact with Camp Jupiter, or Olympus. "We have to send someone over. What if something has happened to them?" she pleaded.

"I understand your concern, my child, but we simply can't allow it," Chiron told her gently. Piper would not give in so easily just yet, though. "But why? It's bound to be much safer over there, or anywhere for that matter, than it is here. What's the harm?" she argued.

"The harm," a voice behind her said, "Is the potential, and very likely, risk that could become of someone leaving the camp." Piper turned round to face Will who had just entered The Big House. His arms were folded and his expression firm.

"If even one person steps outside of those borders, the results would be... catastrophic," he said darkly. "The disease has already spread so fast in the camp. If anyone leaves, they could risk infecting Camp Jupiter, maybe even the world."

Piper gulped. Okay, that's a fair reason not to leave. "But the rest of us aren't sick. Would it not be useful to even send some of the uninfected out to the other camp or even the Empire State Building? Maybe then we'd be able to ask the Gods directly for help," she asked, more calmly this time. She was desperate to see Jason, having not heard from since he left Camp Half-Blood.

Will shook his head. "We may still have the disease or at least traces of it and just be asymptomatic," Will explained. "And I have a feeling we will get similar results by going to the Empire State Building as we have had through the Iris Messaging," Chiron added.

She sighed. "I understand all that, really, I do, but what about Gaia? We have to try and find a way to stop what she's done," Piper persisted. "That is a good point," Will conceded, turning to Chiron.

He looked at them and sighed. "I am not sure how we can stop her, how we can stop this. To be honest I'm not entirely sure she's still... alive." The two looked at him, wide-eyed. "You... what? But we saw her," Piper asked.

"I believe what we think we saw may not have been the whole truth. When you all thought Gaia, you did bring her reign of terror to an end. Even the Gods admitted there was no way she could have survived. But," he said gravelly. "I think, this plague may have been drawn from the very last essence of her power."

Will and Piper exchanged a glance. "She's really gone?" Piper asked. Chiron nodded. "I believe so, yes."

Piper exhaled a breath of relief. Will on the other hand, still looked troubled. "But, if she's not alive, that means there's no source of the plague. And if there's no source, there's nothing for us to kill. How do we kill something that's already dead?"

Chiron shook his head. "That is my exact question. If you can, Will, you will need to do whatever it takes to find the answer. We all will, but you would know best and be the most likely out of all of us to understand this and find a way for it to be stopped."

Will nodded. "I'll try, but for now, we have to prevent more deaths, and that means no one leaving," he said, turning to Piper.

"Okay, I understand. We can't risk spreading the infection," Piper sighed. Will nodded. "I'm glad you agree. Now, I better get back to the infirmary to check on everyone," he said, heading towards the door.

A thought suddenly occurred to Piper. "Will wait," she called. He stopped in the doorway and turned around to face her, an eyebrow raised. "What had you come in here for in the first place?" she asked.

Will's eyes widened. "Gods, how could I have forgotten," he said, face palming himself in the forehead, stepping back into the room. "From what I've seen of all the cases so far," he began,"it looks as though people contract the disease, but may not start showing symptoms for a few days."

Piper narrowed her eyes. "So... what you're saying is, we might actually have the disease right now, and not even realise it?" she asked, worry seeping into her tone. Will paused, and then nodded.

"It appears so. That's why we can't let anyone leave. Until I figure out a way to test for the presence of the illness, it's possible anyone could have it."

Piper sat down on the sofa, letting it sink in. "Do you know up to how long it could take for symptoms to show?" Chiron asked.

"I think, from what I've seen, it could take up to 3-5 days before you would even know. Johnny's friends, for instance, all seemed to contract it at later times than he did. It started with him, obviously, then the next day one of his friends came in, then later that night, another. My guess is, Johnny gave it to the first boy, who then unknowingly passed it on to the next, and so on," Will finished.

"Well, at least we're pretty sure we weren't in contact with any of them," Piper sighed. Will nodded. "True. A good few campers had left before it started, a miracle on it's own and for the majority at least, it seems to be only people who were in immediate contact with Johnny so-" Will abruptly stopped, his eyes widening bigger than Piper had ever seen.

She frowned. "What? What's wrong?" she asked, stepping over to Will, who looked like he'd just seen a ghost.

"How could I have been so stupid! Why didn't I think about this?" he said to himself, pushing his hands through his hair.

"Will what is it?" Piper persisted. "What has happened, my boy?" Chiron asked as well, looking at him curiously.

Will looked up at them looking more shaken than they had ever seen him. "Not everyone left before the disease started. Someone left just after: someone who had been in contact with Johnny," he said, panic engulfing him.

Piper gasped, along with Chiron. "You mean someone's out in the world right now, potentially carrying and spreading this deadly disease, and they have no idea?" Piper exclaimed. Will nodded. "Who is it, Will?" Chiron asked gently, though Piper could tell he was as worried as the rest of them.

Will made eye contact with them. "Percy."